Pneumatic conveyer.



PATBNTED APR. 23, 1,907. E. M. BASSLBR. PNEUMATIG CONVEYER.

APPLIOATIDN FILED AUGA, 1905. EENEWED SEPT. 28, 1906.

' inafter described and claimed.

EDWIN M. BASSLER, OF CHICAGO,

ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO TIIE ECONOMIC ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A

CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

PNEUMATIC CONVEYER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 23, 1907.

Application filed August 4, 1905. Renewed September 28, 1906. Serial No. 836,597.

To a/Z wil/om, t may con/cern,.-

Be it known that I, EDWIN M. BAssLER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, Cook county, Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pneumatic Conveyers, of whlch the following is a specification.

This invention `relates to conveyers, and relates particularly to pneumatic conveyers.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a conveyer particularly designed and adapted for removing ashes and clinkers from furnaces and for other similar purposes.

To this end a conveyer of my invention consists of the various features, combinations of features, and details of construction here- In the accompanying drawings, in which a conveyor of my invention is fully illustrated, Figure l is a view, partly in section, of a conveyor of my invention shown as applied for removing ashes and clinkers from a battery of boilers shown infront elevation.` Fig.y 2 "an enlarged sectional view of the discharge-spout of the hopper, and Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional View on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

For purposes of concrete illustration I have in the drawings shown a conveyer of my invention applied for removing ashes and` clinkers from a battery of boilers, (shown at A.) Extending transversely in front of the boilers A beneath the Hoor-line (indicated by c) is a conduit or pipe 1, in which the ashes and elinkers raked from the boiler-furnaces are adapted to be delivered through suitable holes or openings 2 in said conduit. Gratings 3 are )referabl y secured in said openings 2 for the purpose of determining the maximum sizes of the pieces of material delivered into the conduit l. Said gratings 3 are referably 'made removable to provide for c earing the openings 2 in case they become clogged, and said openings are adapted tov be entirel close(Y by means of4 removable covers 4. vlso for convenience in delivering material thereto the upper ends of the openings 2 are made ilared or opper-shaped.

In the drawings I have shown two openings 2, one in front of the ash-pit door of each furnace. The number and location of said opemngs 1s, however, merely a matter ofi choice and convenience and may be varied as desired to meet requirements.

The conduit 1 may be made of any desired material, as vitriiied tiling or galvanized sheet-iron, and may be of any desired size, a desirable size for ordinary purposes being from six to eight inches in diameter.

The conduit 1 discharges into the upper end of a receptacle 5, secured in iixed position at a desired point of delivery. As shown, said receptacle 5 is secured to the outside of the Wall of the boiler-h0use in such position that the contents thereof may be discharged directly into a car, (indicated at 6.)

The portion of the receptacle 5 into which the conduit l discharges is much larger than said conduit, a desirable size being the equivalent of a diameter live or six times greater than that of' said conduit. For purposes of convenient reference this portion of said receptacle will hereinafter be referred to as the expansion-chamber" thereof'. The receptacle 5 is also provided with a dischargeopenin r 7, said discharge-opening being pref* erably Iarger than the conduit 1, a desirable size therefor being about twice the diameter of said conduit. A conveyor of my invention also comprises means to create a current .of air of high velocity through the conduit 1 into the receptacle 5, as shown, and a fan or blower 8 applied to the discharge-opening 7 of said receptacle With this construction it is obvious that in operation the fan or blower 8 will tend to produce a vacuum in thel receptacle 5, which will in turn create a current of air through the conduit 1 into said receptacle. Obviously, also, the blast or current of air entering the partial vacuum in the expansion-chamber of the rece tacle 5 will at once expand and become rare ed, thus greatly reducing the power thereof as a vehicle and permitting practically all solid material carried thereby to fall by gravity.

As shown, both the conduit 1 and the airdischarge opening connnunicate with the top of the expansion-chamber of the receptacle 5, and to further completely interrupt and destroy the blast from the conduit 1 and to arrest the further movement of solid material carried by said blast under the influence thereof and also to prevent the air passing directly from the conduit 1 to thc discharge- IOO IOS

' a manually-operated opening 7 a baffle 9 is formed across the expansion-chamber of said receptacle between said conduit and discharge-opening in such position that the blast from said conduit will strike said baffle, preferably substantially at right angles. Said baffle 9 may be made of sheet-iron, masonry, or' othersuitable matcrial.

My improved conveyer also comprises means for wetting the material delivered into the receptacle 5 from the conduit 1. This is preferably accomplished by introducing jets or streams of water into the blast from said conduit; but my invention contemplates any suitable means for this purpose. As shown, a water-pipe 10 extends across the to of the baille 9 on the side thereof against w ich the blast from the conduit 1 is directed. Said water-pipe is connected with. a suitable source of lsupply of water under pressure (not shown) by means of a pipe 11 and is provided with a series of openings adapted to discharge jets or streams of water downwardly along the face of said baffle 9 and across the blast from the conduit YY1.

The portion of the receptacle 5 below the expansion-chamber thereof forms what may be termed a trap, into which the solidmaterial delivered into said receptacle falls and whence it may be. removed through a suitable discharge-opening therein. discharge opening is maintained normally closed by means of a gate 12, hinged to the upper edge of said discharge-opening so as to swing upwardly and outwardly, and which is held closed by means of a weight 13, carried on a rod 14, secured to said gate. In the preferable construction shown the weight 13 is adjustable lengthwise of the rod 14 and is adapted to be secured thereto in desired position by means of aset-screw or other means, thusaproviding for regulating the force applied to said gate to close the same.

When the contents of the receptacle 5 are discharged, they are delivered into the car 6 by means of a suitable spout or chute 15, secured in fixed position beneath the dischargeopening of said receptacle.

To provide for regulating the velocity of the current through the duit is provided with a vent which, as shown, consists of an open-ended vextension of said conduit and which is controlled by means of valve or gate 16..

With a conveyer of the construction de- -scribed it is obvious that in operation the fan or blower 8 willtend to create a vacuum in the expansion-chamber of the receptacle 5, which will in turn produce a current of air of high velocity throughA the conduit 1, which will carry with it material delivered into said conduit and will discharge the same into the receptacle 5, the maximum size of the pieces delivered to said conduit being determined by the size of the openings in the gratings 3 Saidv conduit 1, said consecured in the admission-openings 2,l maximum sizes being such that the current of air insaid conduit will readily carry the same off. If at any time the velocity of they current of air through the conduit 1 is greater than desired, it can easily be regulated by said l closing the gate or valve 16 controlling the vent-opening of said conduit, and vice versa. The blast from the conduit 1, together withl the material' carried thereby, will be projected against the vface of the baffle 9 ind( its movement arrested, while the ex ansion of the air in the expansion-chamber o the receptacle will so reduce the velocity of sai blast that the material delivered into said trap thereby will be free to fall by gravity into the trap at the lower end of the receptacle, the jets or streamsfof water from the pipe 10 operating to wash down with it all fine particles, such as ashes, onlylthe air practically free from all solid matter passing out through the dischargefrom said pipe 10 will a guish any live coals or clinkers which may be discharged into said receptacle 5, the same being delivered into the conduit 1 inthe same condition in which they are removedfrom the furnace without being reviously ipe 7. The water so operate to extin-.

wet, as obviously said conveyer will operate most effectively on thoroughly-dry material.

The contents of the receptacle 5 may be dumped at any time by o ening the gate 12, and said contents will be dhmped automatically whenever the weight thereof is sufficient to overcome the force tending to hold the gate 12 closed and will close again automatically as soon as said receptacle is einptied.

In the ap licatioii of my conveyer shown in the drawings, in which the conduit 1 is located in front and outside of the boilers A, the ashes and clinkers are designed to be raked from the ash-'pits of the furnaces in the usual manner and then delivered by hand into the conduit 1, the fan or blower 8 being operated only at intervals, as necessary to remove the ashes and clinkers raked from the furnaces. the particular'disposition of the conduit is immaterial and is a matter of judgment and may be varied in different applications to meet different requirements or conditions. Also the question of operating said conveyer continuously or at intervals will depend u on the duty required of said conveyer. us while as ap lied to a furnace it will ordinarily only 'e operated 'at intervals only in a planing-mill or the like it will in most cases be operated continuously.

I claini as my inventionduit provided with openings, a receptacle into which said conduit discharges, said receptacle being provided with an a'r-discharge opening, means Obviously, however,

, 1275 1. In aconveyer, the combination of a conan admission opening or ISO y to create a current of air through said` conduit and means to wet the material delivered into said receptacle from said conduit.

2. In a conveyer, the combination of a conf duit provided with an admission opening or "openings, a receptacle into which' said conduit discharges, said receptacle being provided with an air-discharge. opening, means to create a current of air through said conduit and means for applyin jets or streams of water to the material de ivered into said receptacle from said conduit.

3. In a conveyer, the combination of a conduit provided with an admission opening or openings, a receptacle into which said conduit discharges, provided with an air-discharge opening, means to create a current of air through said conduit and means for introducing water into the blast from said conduit.

4. In a conveyer,the combination of a conduit provided with an admission opening or openings, a receptacle into which said conduit discharges, said receptacle lcomprising an expansion-chamber and being provided with an air-discharge o e-ning, means to create a current of air t ough said conduit,

means in said 'expansion-chamber to interate a current of air through said conduit, a

baiile in said expansion-chamber against which the blast from said conduit is directed and means to discharge water along the face of said baflie and across the blast'rom said conduit. .l

Y6. In a conveyer, the combination of a conduit provided with an admission opening or openings, a receptacle into'.which said conduit discharges, 'said receptacle'comprising an expansion-chamber `and being provided with an air-discharge opening, means to create a current of air through said conduit, a

baffle in said expansion-chamberv between said conduit and said air-discharge opening directed and means to .discharge water along the face of said baffle and across the blast from said conduit.

l7. In a conveyer, the'combination of a conagainst which the blast from said conduit isi.,

duit provided with an admission opening or openings, a receptacle into which said' conduit discharges, said receptacle comprising,

an expansionfchamber and being provided with an air-discharge opening, a fan or blower applied to said discharge-opening, a baffle Within said expansion-chamber located between said conduit and air-discharge open-V ing against which the blast from said conduit is .directed and means to -discharge water along the face of said-baille and across the blast from said conduit..

9. In a conveyer, the combination of-a conduit provided with an admission opening or openings, a receptacle into which said conduit discharges, said receptacle comprising an expansion-chamber and being provided with an air-discharge opening, a fan -or blower applied to said discharge-opening, a baffle in said expansion-chamber 'located between said conduit and said discharge-opening, said conduit being provided with a ventopening and a gate for controlling said ventopening whereby the current of air through said conduit may be regulated.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my inventionI aiiix my signature, 1n pres-` lst day ence of two subscribing witnesses, this of August, 1905.

EDWIN AM. BASSLER.-

Witnesses: l W. A. SHARP,

vB. A. RAYMOND. 

